Delhi temperature drops to 1.4 degrees celsius, second coldest morning in 17 years

NEW DELHI: The capital experienced its coldest morning in two years - and the second coldest in 17 years - with the mercury at Safdarjung dipping to 1.4 degrees Celsius, signalling severe cold wave conditions which may last for two more days, reports Kushagra Dixit.


This was also the first time since 2006 that the temperature had dipped below 2 degrees C twice during the same month, after 1.9 degrees C was recorded on January 8. In the last 30 years, Safdarjung has logged temperatures lower than 1.4 deg C only twice - 1.1 deg C in January 2021 and 0.2 deg C in January 2006.

It's likely to get chillier today: Met Department
As the chill in the city intensified into a severe cold wave on Monday with the mercury plunging to 1.4 degrees C, met officials said the sharp dip in temperatures were due to icy northwesterly winds blowing at speeds of 8-12 kmph combined with clear and dry weather conditions.

Meanwhile, the weather department expects temperatures to drop further on Tuesday. The minimum temperature on Tuesday and Wednesday is likely to hover around 1 and 2 degrees Celsius, respectively.

"The weather is currently dry, almost 50% drier than the dense-fog days. Sometimes, moisture also acts as a greenhouse gas to trap heat. Conversely, dry atmosphere on a clear night allows heat from the land surface to escape into the upper atmosphere, leading to radiational cooling and a sharp drop in night temperatures. So, a combination of factors including absence of moisture and fog, and presence of cold northwesterly winds led to the drop in minimum temperature on Monday," said R K Jenamani, senior weather scientist, IMD.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says there could be some respite Thursday onwards when the minimum temperature may rise to 5 degrees Celsius. However, under the impact of a fresh western disturbance, visibility will start to go down due to dense fog on the morning of January 19, with a drizzle likely during the night. Weather analysts expect back-to-back western disturbances which may lead to rain or drizzling in Delhi from January 23 to 26 as well.

"There are chances of slight drop in the minimum temperature on Tuesday January 17, however due to arrival of a fresh western disturbance the wind direction will start changing from Wednesday night, thus the temperature may increase from Thursday onwards. However, there are more back-to-back western disturbances possible in the region, which will lead to drizzling on Thursday and as well as around January 23 to 26," said Mahesh Palawat, vice chairman, climate change and meteorology, Skymet, adding that the cold wave condition will continue till Wednesday, January 18.

The IMD forecasts shallow fog in the morning till Wednesday, thereafter moderate to dense fog from January 19.

A western disturbance (WD) is a pulse of moisture-laden winds from the Mediterranean region which leads to rain or snow in the Himalayan and may also bring wet weather in the northern plains. Upon its arrival, the wind direction changes in northern plains to easterly - leading to warmer temperatures - while switching to cold northerlies or north-westerlies after the WD passes.

While the minimum at Safdarjung on Monday was 1.4 degrees C, six notches below normal against 4.7 degrees C a day earlier, the maximum was recorded at 18.7 degrees C.